Author: Press Room

Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson has died.The 52-year-old rap icon’s 69-year-old parent is said to have battled lung cancer and passed away on Monday (local time) in St Joseph, Missouri, according to TMZ.The Lose Yourself hitmaker and Debbie had a rocky relationship — with the rapper documenting their ups and downs in hits including, Cleanin’ Out My Closet and Headlights.Her passing comes five years after Eminem’s estranged father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr, passed away after a heart attack aged 67 in 2019.Nelson became pregnant with Eminem — whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III — when she was 18, in…

The last thing you want when you crank up the heat pump to cool you off or switch on a fan is to be breathing in any dust particles which have been laying on there since goodness knows when.The Housekeeper cleaner Rachael Quin says heat pumps have become more mainstream over the past five years. But often we “fit and forget” to maintain them, as well as ceiling fans.Aircon Heatpump Cleaners owner Kevin Bedford, who has been helping people keep their heat pumps in check for the past 16 years, says the less dust, the better your machine will operate.”Once…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ There is about $2 billion of “profit” in the charitable sector that is not subject to tax, data suggests. Finance Minister Nicola Willis is promising tax changes ahead for charities and closing of loopholes, to be announced in next year’s Budget. “We’ve set that out in the tax policy work programme – what essentially we’re doing is looking to see if there are any loopholes that are being exploited that would allow entities that are structured as charities to avoid tax they should otherwise pay,” Willis told reporters on Tuesday, following her appearance at the…

Local politicians have paid tribute to one of the region’s more colourful councillors — Frank Dooley — who died suddenly at the weekend in what’s understood to be a medical event.The Westport chartered accountant, who was 70, was the chairman and, more recently, chief executive of Buller Electricity.He was elected to the West Coast Regional Council two years ago, vowing to get it back on track after a couple of turbulent years.The council’s chief executive Darryl Lew said Dooley was widely respected by staff members for his financial and corporate knowledge and the huge energy he brought to his role.”Frank…

Online platforms for short-term rentals and transportation services, such as Airbnb and Uber, will have to charge VAT from 2030 at the latest, as the EU recently approved new rules for online services. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU wants to level the playing field on VAT for tourist accommodation and chauffeur-driven car transport, so online platforms such as Airbnb, Uber and Bolt will need to collect VAT, just as other traditional businesses do. That could amount to as much as 25%, and the rule would apply from 2030. “It’s always very difficult to reach agreement on EU tax laws, because they have to be approved…

American heavy metal band Slipknot have announced they will perform a one-off New Zealand show in March 2025.They will play at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Tuesday, March 11. Already on this side of the world for their Knotfest Australia Tour, they have added headline sideshows for Adelaide and Auckland.Bursting onto the scene with their self-titled debut album in 1999, Slipknot have been nominated for 11 Grammy awards, winning one.Go here for ticket information.

Sanitarium has ended production of its peanut butter range due to “declining customer demand” and “growth of other favourites”.In a statement to 1News, Sanitarium Health Food Company said “our people have proudly produced every jar”.”We thank all our loyal customers over the last 100 years for loving our quality range of peanut butters.”Sanitarium understands that this may be sad news to some consumers, and we sincerely apologise for any disappointment caused.”Production of the range ended in late July, the company said.In March this year, Sanitarium announced it was set to end the production of a range of breakfast products by…

This article was originally published in Portuguese Since 1992, 3 December has been recognised as the International Day of People with Disabilities, yet many continue to face exclusion from the workforce. ADVERTISEMENTAt number 26, Calçada da Estrela, in central Lisbon, José and Teresa, both of whom have autism spectrum disorders, found their first job after turning 20.Café Joyeux, a French initiative brought to Portugal with support from the VilaComVida association, offers a model for training and integrating people with disabilities. The café aims to create a more inclusive society by opening its doors to people from all backgrounds.There are now four…

The case against the man accused of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao is an absolute slam dunk, the Crown has told the jury.This morning, prosecutor Pip Currie gave her closing argument in the case against Tingjun Cao.The trial has been held in the High Court at Christchurch for the past six weeks.Yanfei Bao went missing from Hornby in July last year. Her body was found in a shallow grave on a Greenpark farm just over a year later.The Crown case is that Cao lured Bao to a Trevor St home under the pretence of wanting to view the…

EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi has signalled that revisiting the EU’s medical device regulations is inevitable, marking a shift from the previously cautious stance of the European Commission. ADVERTISEMENTIn his debut appearance before EU health ministers, Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi declared that a review of the EU’s medical device regulations is practically guaranteed.This marks a departure from the European Commission’s prior ambiguity to commit to such a move.Current medical device rules were agreed in 2017, and govern a wide range of products from high-tech devices like X-ray machines and pacemakers to everyday items such as contact lenses and bandages.Repeated extensions of…